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What I write here does not represent the views or beliefs of my employer. I may even disagree with myself.

Old Guy in a Seersucker Shirt

Standard

“Boy aren’t you pretty? I’m falling in love already,” he says. The waitress looks uncomfortable and doesn’t make eye contact.

“What can I get for you? We have our happy hour menu here,” she replies quietly. I wince from the next table.

Sitting here in a restaurant at the airport, I’m not too impressed with old guy’s charm. Thanks to him, my airport rants may be turning into a series and I’m publicly turning into a full-blown curmudgeon.

While I don’t automatically hate this guy (even though I hate his shirt and how he yells at his phone like the guy from trigger happy tv), he made me think about old school vs. new school and the fine line between the socially acceptable and head-shaking statements that we walk these days.

Remember the face Lee Trevino had in Happy Gilmore? Yeah.

People are pretty quick to shut down any sort of complimentary gaffe an old guy makes at a young lady these days. And I’m not totally sold on this. On one hand, he’s offering her a compliment, and who doesn’t like compliments. If an old lady said that to me, I’d feel a little weird but probably wouldn’t be offended.

Granted, I wouldn’t go up to someone at work and say that kind of cheesy shit. “You look nice today,” or something is appropriate if you really have to walk the line. But is the old guy officially a creep for saying what he said? Nah.

Though I initially rolled my eyes and didn’t like the guy, I think he’s just old. So yeah, he sounds like a douchebag but I think it’s a stretch to say he’s objectifying women and a chauvinist. Maybe if he said, “hey, nice tits! get me a beer, wench!” But he just said she was pretty, and was probably right.

Tune in next week, where I bitch about how people wait for their bags at the baggage claim and other nuggets of airport etiquette.